The Catcher in the Rye Relative to the 1950's
The Catcher in the Rye can be strongly considered as one of the greatest novels of all time and Holden Caufield distinguishes himself as one of the greatest and most diverse characters. His moral system and his sense of justice force him to detect horrifying flaws in the society in which he lives.
However, this is not his principle difficulty. His principle difficulty is not that he is a rebel, or a coward, nor that he hates society, it is that he has had many experiences and he remembers everything. Salinger indicates this through Holden's confusion of time throughout the novel. Experiences at Whooten, Pency, and Elkton Hills combine and no levels of time separate them. This
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I mean if they're running and they don't look we're they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them." That's all I have to do all day. I'd just be the Catcher in the Rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be. I know it's crazy(Salinger 173). Holden exhibits the madness described before at often times throughout the book and in the end it ends up sending him to a sanitarium. He knows he has become mad and he even tells himself this many times in the book; but he never really believes it. One time in the book when he displays this madness is,
Wadsworth 4.
"But I'm crazy I swear to God I am. About halfway to the bathroom, I started pretending I had a bullet in my guts. Old Maurice had plugged me.
Now I was on the way to the bathroom to get a good shot of bourbon. I pictured myself with my automatic in my pocket, and staggering a little bit. I'd walk down a couple of floors-holding on to my guts, blood leaking all over the place. As soon as old Maurice opened the doors he'd start screaming at me. But I'd plug him anyway"(Salinger 103-4). This explains the psychotically disturbing actions Holden takes in this novel. Holden becomes obsessed with death and dying, and several times in the book he wishes he was dead. "Again, Holden can't stay away from the subject of the death of family members and the decay of the corpse. Even when he later goes to the Museum of
There is one part which he talks about and refers to throughout the story -
Teenage years are difficult. Time tells this story of struggle again and again. The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel showing the struggles a teenager goes through while transitioning into adulthood. The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a judgmental and temperamental boy who struggles to see the positivity in life. Throughout the story, Holden searches to find himself, as he feels forced to grow up. He holds onto aspects of his childhood and isolates himself so much that it is even harder for him to transition. J.D. Salinger uses the red hunting hat, the museum and cigarettes as important symbols in the story to convey the themes of transitioning from childhood to adulthood, loneliness, and isolation.
example of this is the way he brutally kills the mother pig. He would also show
J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is a remarkable book that gives readers a unique and perhaps gloomy perspective of the 1950's through Holden Caulfield, a cynical and peculiar teenager. Through The Catcher in the Rye Salinger describes important aspects of the 1950's. Salinger emphasizes several key characteristics of the 50's and criticizes them through Holden. In addition, Holden Caulfield is a very interesting character with several traits that put him at odds with society.
Everyone has to grow up at some point in life, but one must face different challenges and obstacles to get there, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger shows this idea. The novel takes place around the 1950s and is written in the perspective of Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who struggles with moving into the adult world after the death of his younger brother Allie. He faces difficulties trying get there when he is kicked out of his fourth boarding school after failing four out of five classes, but he is not scheduled to come home to Manhattan until 3 days later. Holden soon decides that he has had enough of Pencey Prep and will go to Manhattan early, without the knowledge of his parents, leaving him to face New York on his own. The Curious
Holden Caufield emphasizes on the loss of innocence in children. He feels that once they lose their innocence, they will soon turn into phonies like everyone else. The loss of innocence is very common in the development in human existence. It is caused by many factors. Past a certain age, children are either forced or led unintentionally into a pathway of corruption. A child is also known to lose their innocence by desires, fantasies, and attention. But once they lose their innocence, they tend to desire to go back and pretend to be young again. In the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden discusses the importance of innocence in children's lives. He feels that once a child loses his/her innocence, he/she will soon be leaded to a
He tells him about the fire he enjoys, his search for food, running into people that are scared of him and shun him away, and how he finally finds a small place to stay and watches a family from a crack within one of the walls.
The critical lens presented in the Catcher in the Rye is very evident in the main character Holden. Using the psychoanalytic lens to read The Catcher in the Rye shows the struggle Holden has trying to deal with the "Phonies" in his everyday life that he just can't relate to. This inability to connect with the people around him reveals his emotional instability and personal flaws. The majority of his issues lye within his subconscious and he doesn’t realize the way he treats people.
He lived in constant fear of his surroundings and didn’t lead an exactly normal life. When he finally decides to get out of his predicament and stages his own death, he
He was used to live in his brother’s shadow, but when the boat accident happened to them, he was the only one to survive. As he was always indentifying himself the less important one, he considered it was wrong that he was the one who would still have a life. As a result of nervous breakdown, he tried to kill himself with cutting his wrists in the bathroom, fortunately his father found out and save him. Then he went to the psychiatric for four months. When he comes back, there are still issues he needs to deal with.
Holden is in a cab on his way to Ernie’s and after he asks the driver with Holden. When Holden asks why he is “sore” about it, the cab driver denies being upset. Holden seems to constantly anger people throughout the story due to his blunt way of addressing topics and his inability to see the positive side of things. The cab driver on the other hand, is clearly upset, but is instead choosing to be passive aggressive by denying his anger. I do not like when people are passive aggressive. I would much rather someone talk to me directly and maturely if they are upset.
George Bernard Shaw once said that, “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” In J.D. Salinger’s novel, The Catcher and The Rye, Holden’s fear of change shows us that change, although difficult, is inevitable as one matures from a child to an adult. We see how Holden is overwhelmed with change which makes him enjoy things that stay the same. When Holden is able to look back at this experiences, he matures and is able to grow.
he does not want to, he plays a part in the conflict of the story. I’m glad the author
he is estranged from himself. To help expand on this theme it is useful to look
his lies and tells him what he wants to hear, out of compassion. The book describes the last